Help me decide...Windsor Hills or CBR

[christi2705]

It's our 1st trip to Disney and I'm going back and forth between Windsor Hills and CBR with dining plan. They will both be about the same price.

At Windsor Hills we wouldn't eat as much on site or have as many character meals (we will do 3). But we would get to stay an extra day and obviously have more room (we have 2 kids...5 and 2).

At CBR we would get more character meals and have the onsite experience.

I could really use input from people who have done this all before!

 

[clj1410]

It's our 1st trip to Disney and I'm going back and forth between Windsor Hills and CBR with dining plan. They will both be about the same price.

At Windsor Hills we wouldn't eat as much on site or have as many character meals (we will do 3). But we would get to stay an extra day and obviously have more room (we have 2 kids...5 and 2).

At CBR we would get more character meals and have the onsite experience.

I could really use input from people who have done this all before!

We have stayed onsite 3 out of our 5 WDW trips (the other 2 were timeshare deals)

CBR is a very big resort and you pretty much would have to take a bus from one side to the other, having said that CBR is a great resort. They have a really neat pool for the kids.

We are heading down in August, and we have opted to rent a house at WH. We are going with SIL and DN, so we found it would be cheaper if we rented a four bedroom house. We are also doing Universal and Seaworld more then we would be doing WDW.

I think there are advantages of doing either!

 

[Brian Noble]

I do not consider four people in a single hotel room to be a vacation. I know that some people do, but I don't. The onsite experience, for me, was over-blown. It was nice, sure, but it wasn't *that* nice. Others would disagree; YMMV.

I would go with Windsor Hills vs. CBR, even if it cost a little more for the same amount of time. Staying an extra day and spending about the same amount seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[christi2705]

Thanks... I booked a 2 bedroom in Windsor Hills today and got a super deal! We can't wait for our 1st Disney Trip

 

[Vacation Lover]

I'm sure you will get a completely different response if you post this question on the Disney Resorts board!

We have stayed at both, CBR and WH, and I would definitely choose WH for our family. We have 3 kids, and it's nice to have some room to spread out. CBR was cramped for us, and (maybe because it's so spread out???) we really didn't get that "onsite Disney experience" that everyone talks about. It was nice, but so was WH. We just felt that WH was more relaxing than CBR--felt more like a vacation; we weren't nearly as exhausted afterwards! It all depends on what kind of vacation you're looking for.

CBR pros:
Housekeeping--It's nice to have someone making the beds for you when you're on vacation.
Disney onsite experience--as noted above, this was overhyped in my opinion, but nonetheless, it is a cool experience.
Dining plan--we spent more on dining that I expected when we stayed at WH; we did free dining when we stayed at CBR and that was great.
Disney transportation--wasn't an issue for us since we had a car, but the one time DH and youngest DD wanted to sleep in, the older kids and I caught the bus without any problems and DH met us there later with the car.

CBR cons:
The resort is very spread out. We drove to the pool and food court! (It's a beautiful resort and about a 10 minute walk, but was just easier to drive with a little one.)
Space--it was cramped, but there was enough storage for all of our stuff. Going to sleep at night was tough because DH and I wanted to stay up and read or watch TV, but that was too distracting for the kids to get to sleep.

WH pros:
Space--plenty of room to spread out
Nice pool--zero entry pool with great slide
Close to Disney--really wasn't much farther away than CBR!
Cost--much less expensive and even paying for meals (as opposed to free dining when we stayed at CBR) we spent less overall. Nice to have the full kitchen, if only for a fridge full of drinks and easy breakfasts before the park.

WH cons:
Other than not getting the 100% Disney experience, I really can't think of any.

 

[christi2705]

Thanks. When I started making my pros/cons list I realized that it was mainly the dining plan that had me still considering CBR. There were so many other pros (for us) to staying at WH. I'm sure we'll have a great time!

 

[ksueboo]

That's funny, as we were considering which way to go (All Star Suite or WH) it was the dining plan that was holding us up too. We are planning on going in November and were hoping for free dining since they offered it last November. When I priced it all out, and I went as far as going to allears and pricing out every restaurant we wanted to eat at plus factoring in grocery costs and parking fees, WH will end up costing us about $300 extra.

We figured that having a three bedroom townhouse with a SW facing splash pool right outside our door and three bathrooms was worth $300 dollars. Our 4 kids will actually get beds to sleep in and not pull out sofa/chair beds. We are also just anxious to try something different. We have stayed in all three AS resorts and loved it, really! Just wanted a new experience!

We cant wait!!!